Study Tips
by Devin Trinidad
Summary: Sweat piled high on her brow as she faced her dreaded tutor...
1. The Beginner's Guide

_I don't know how to do these proofs. How do these angles and bisectors relate to real life?_

Alice must have been really crazy or her younger sister must have bonked her head while she was bedridden. Either way, this could have been fully avoided if she actually slept for a full eight hours instead of tutoring her best friends who just happened to only want her company. Tonight, for sure, she was going to hunt down Boris and the twins and murder them.

Eyes darting about warily, her hands fidgeted about her light blue dress, sweat piling on her brow. If it were another person to help her along with her strenuous studies, she would have been far more relaxed. Even Blood would have made a far better teacher than Sydney Black! Which only served to remind her…

In front of her, only separated by a standard amount of wood and various books blocked him partially on sight. Shuddering internally, she stole a quick glance at her dreaded tutor. With raven black hair framing his pale face, the Japanese look about him caused many to fall for him, only to be rejected because of his loyalty to his friend Crista Snowpidgeon. Not that the dirty blonde cared, but it was a blessing to know the facts of her strange teacher.

With one eye blue and red, the young girl could hardly imagine what it must have been like when he was younger. Obviously, the polite teen felt for him, and could not understand why he wished to bathe the world in such a dark color. She could also not understand why he hated her so much.

When she first transferred to the prestigious academy, she had thought he was high strung and shy. Slowly, she began to realize that he was a cruel person who somehow hated her guts. However, she was a hope-filled girl and she was willing to make thing better for him. Nevertheless, every time she had approached the dark attired young man, only a few curt words that masked his true feelings ever occurred between them.

Then again, he must have isolated himself when he was younger, even committing social suicide by wearing dorky clothing and a monocle. An image of a young Sydney caused Alice's cheeks to flame up in utter disgust and loathing. Even though it was her overactive imagination, how could she think that the unpleasant teen was a cute boy once upon a time? Although he bore a strange resemblance to his cousin, Peter White, the both were complete opposites of each other.

Earlier, as he underwent his transformation of a nervous upperclassmen playing host to his 'mistress', she had noticed that he looked less cold… that he needed more love to be let in his world. Now, as she realized the bile was collecting in her throat, maybe… maybe she should have requested another tutor. Preferably Peter than this man who was surely going to murder her.

Coughing nervously to dispel the surplus of phlegm, she accidentally caught the attention of her instructor. Monocle flashing in the harsh light of the library, a stern look was formed in the polls of sapphire and ruby. A sight that would have made the maiden running for the hills had it not for one thing that held her back.

_"Be sure to get a good grade, little sister!" Her older sibling, clad in her traditional violet outfit gave her peck on the forehead. "And if any of those boys goes after," she began with murderous intent," tell me when there will be the wedding!" Instead of cold calculated torture, warmth and childish light replaced it._

_ Laughing nervously, Alice pecked her sister in return._

_ "Will do, Lorina, will do."_

"Miss Liddel, please do tell," as his eyes met hers," why none of these thing ring a bell?"

Normally, Alice would have been annoyed at the rhyme, but this was not Peter. Oh, no. She had to be questioned-in rhyme-by the infamous Sydney Black. Fate must have hated her because she felt like she should have been turned into a puddle by the way he was glaring at her.

Cursing inwardly, the teen tried to look away from the death stare of her companion. Mind already numb by the situation she was placed in; she could not afford to speak rashly. Sweating profusely, she managed to stutter," I-I don't get it?"

Clearly indignant, the black haired male sighed and pushed his monocle back into place. If one were to look closely, you could have seen some of his tendrils turn nasty shade of white. Pulling a dark red pen from his black vest pocket, he began to write in perfect calligraphy on a sheet of paper in front of him.

"How many times have you told me that poor excuse?" Although his voice was calm, it held an eerie undertone that could have caused an inmate from the deepest, darkest pits of jail to turn tail and run. Somehow, Alice got the feeling that she had to answer without fail or she would have to deal with this guy's reputable wrath. Feeling warmth travel up to her cheeks, she felt the need to face her lap, hands clutching her skirt.

"A lot, Sydney."

"That would be Mr. Black to you, Miss Liddel," his dual colored eyes bore into her skull as she refused to face him. Something cruel inside him enjoyed the discomfort that he had caused her. He only served to egg her on. "And how many times do we have to go through the same material?"

Flinching from his state of tone and his steely gaze, she continued to study the intricate embroidery of the hem. Unable to face the truth of her situation, she turned away from him and ran out the exit, tears falling from her sea green eyes.

_I give up._

"What a pity," Sydney Black sneered contemptuously.

As he observed his charge stumbling out the door, he took a fine lace handkerchief and wiped his slightly smudged monocle clean. It would not serve him well if his closest belongings were not up to par with his high standards.

* * *

Dedication: If it weren't for Tailsdoll123, I would have never visited the wonderful world of the Country of Hearts (her fanfiction's are awesome!); VaniVen's artwork on Sydney Black (check her out on DeviantArt); and lastly, HawkfrostsAvenger. She has some fantastic fic ideas and she was mainly my inspiration on this! So thank you all!

Anyways, I know Sydney isn't out yet, but I wanted to write about him. I apologize in advance if he was OOC (then again, we have a few months to find out.) Basically, I based his character off of a meme which included him (just search Sydney Black Heart no Kuni and it should come up on dA) his blog, and off of YouTube. Just search Diamond no Kuni no Alice and a hilarious trailer should come up.

So please read, enjoy, and review!


	2. What's Your Vertices?

Alice was desperate.

Sure, she had improved on her geometry skills, all thanks to Sidney, but still. She also tried to tweak out the kinks of her flawed knowledge on proofs, but she was failing. Failing quite miserably, she might add. Due to her need to be a perfectionist at all times, the middle Liddel child drew up necessary measures to bring about better marks. However, she did not expect _him _to help her.

Unwillingly, she set her book bag on the carpeted floor of the library and cocked her head to the side, as if to sense a certain person's presence. Finding none, she found herself relieved, albeit annoyed and a bit angry. Shrugging off her inner hurt, she shuffled the contents of her bag and successfully pulled out a tattered math textbook. Thinking that perhaps her knight in shining algebraic equations was going to be late, or never come at all, she flipped idly through the pages.

Dully noting the fact that she was on the designated assignment, she raised her head to the clock and groaned inwardly. When she had signed up for one on one tutoring, the time allotted was thirty minutes. Since she spent three minutes looking for her guide and two minutes flipping through the tome. If her mysterious teacher kept this up, then…

She banged her head noisily against the wooden top of the table, alerting the presence of female authority. An old lady with humongous round black sunglasses tottered around the corner of one of the bookshelves. Looking mean and evil, the old lady was widely known throughout the school. Her name? She was Fae C. Less and her agenda was to stalk the good people of Cordis Academy. That, and to play the truant officer, judge, and executioner. But enough about the nasty old lady who appears to have no face, lets get on to the real story!

"No rebellious head banging!" The old lady barked with austere authority. Being blind—her sunglasses hinted at that—she smacked her cane against the sides of the worktable furiously. "I can hear your cortex jiggling and the lawsuits your parents would bring if you break your spine due to unnecessary hip hop moves!"

Alice tried to defend herself by putting on an innocent front in order to combat the ill graces of the wicked. "Ma'am, I won't do it ag—"

"Fool, once you start the path that leads to the dark side, you can never ever go back." The unsightly wrinkles on the old lady's face highlighted the dark undertones that she grated out in a terrifying manner. "EVER. IS THAT CLEAR!" She barked with the ferocity of a livid Doberman.

Alice could only shake in undulated fear as she watched the school's principal walk away with ninja like radar.

* * *

Great sea green eyes stared at the clock hurriedly; knowing that her supposed savior for the day was probably was not going to offer his services. Seriously, she was such a little freshman. Why didn't she listen to the upperclassmen's rumors about the junior who couldn't find his way in the world even if he tried!? With deep remorse for her stubborn actions, Alice dug through her satchel. She still had twenty minutes left, perhaps her knight would save her from the horrors of homework soon. As she rummaged through the contents, she realized that wherever her utensils were, it wasn't there.

Panicking, the light blue clad girl pulled the bag up to her lap and scanned the bag's contents worriedly. First the tutor, now a thief who dared pickpocket her pencils and calculator? How did this prestigious school operate on such low standards?

"Hahahaha, Miss Alice! You're not going to find whatever you're looking for over there!" An obnoxiously loud and cheery voice echoed throughout the library.

* * *

"Those darn kids are at it again," Fae C. Less cried. Scrambling away from the inventory, she realized that it would take her another ten minutes to go to the other end. Fuming, she muttered with unconcealed rage," They're going to rue the day they entered this school after the detention monitors gets through them!"

* * *

Setting himself down opposite of the young lady was a young man playing with a light purple pencil case. With mesmerizing red eyes, tousled brunette locks, and easygoing demeanor, it was easy to see why girls swooned. Already, Alice could feel the pit of her stomach curl in unease and indignation at the thievery of her belongings.

"Mister Ace," she called out with a slight glare," do give me back my pencil case. I find geometry hard and keeping pencils is a smart thing to do." Pouting cutely—unbeknownst to her—she added," Please?" Unfortunately, Ace was not the type of man to be all chivalrous and brave at moments like these.

"Tut, tut, Alice," he sang out without a care in the world. "I'm your tutor for the day, so therefore," he gestured to the case with a free hand," we won't be needing this."

Carelessly, he threw Alice's school supplies into the abyss of the library, not caring where it landed.

* * *

"Kids these days, leaving their junk on the floor, swearing at their superiors," she muttered. "Honestly," she ranted to her trusty cane," I feel like I'm running a—"

WHOOSH.

CRASH.

BAM.

Ding dong! The witch is dead!

* * *

"Ace," Alice murderously began," that was rude and uncalled for." She edged out of her seat and was about to retrieve the bomb that bombarded the old lady, when a strong force pulled her back. Gasping aloud, she turned back to the young man and scowled.

Pleased with the young girl's reactions towards his advances, he gestured merrily to her unoccupied seat. Taking a hint and indirectly signaling submission, she took the unsaid offer. Eyes twinkling with mischief, he intoned jovially," Sit down like a good girl Miss Alice! I have a lot to teach you!"

Rolling her eyes, Alice grumbled incomprehensibly.

"What was that?"

"A lot you say," she began slowly. He nodded for her to continue. "In only fifteen minutes?"

"Duh. I always learn when I barely brush past the deadline!"

* * *

"I am officially lost." The young, female brunette furrowed her eyebrows as tried to process her instructor's explanations.

"That's rude, Alice." Said in a childish voice, the freshman could hardly believe that he was two years older than her and acted like a petulant child. And how, in the name of Cordis Academy did she act rude? It wasn't her fault that Ace mastered the art of leading others astray in the path of 'greatness' as he so called it. Even though he appeared to be genuine in his intelligence, she couldn't help but think that he was bit of a sadist.

"What do you ever so mean," she mumbled tiredly. She glanced at the clock that hung on the nearby wall. Eyes widening with sudden dread, she cried out," We've been tackling this for only ten minutes and I STILL DON'T GET IT!"

"You stole my line and added a fancy word," he replied with a hint of menace. Obviously, he was referring to her previous query, but Alice would have none of that.

"So what," she sneered. Right now she didn't care about the hierarchy of the school and that she might be offending the higher ups, right now she wanted to ace—no pun intended—geometry for crying out loud!

"I wonder," he continued casually, as if she didn't disrupt his musing," how the enforcers of the law punish those who infringe on copyright…." Somehow, despite Alice's keen sense of observation, Ace had towered above her, something that had to do with dark intentions shone in his eyes. "I wonder," he repeated. His face—his sweet, gorgeous face—rapidly approached hers. "Do you know?"

Angry that the older teen's mischief was flustering her, she stayed rooted in place. If needed, she was going to slap him like crazy.

"All I know is that you're invading my personal space," she muttered furiously. In retaliation, Ace laughed wickedly, pointedly ignoring the glares thrown at him.

"Careful, Alice, if you don't know the rules of the game," he flicked her nose playfully," you won't know how to play correctly."

Exasperated that the heat in her cheeks was not retreating by sheer will alone, the brunette crossed her arms and replied without meeting his eyes.  
"What are _you _playing at?" She gesticulated to the toned body leaning over hers in a sensual manner. "In this case, sexual harassment is far more punishable than copyright infringement." Smiling smugly at her witty comeback, she smirked for Ace's reply. Unluckily for the first year, Ace was not one to be deterred.

"Is little Miss Alice scared of me? _I would never sexually harass you…" _His voice turned husky, signaling a something was up. "But if I did I would _gladly _accept the consequences."

At that, Alice gulped and tried to ignore the overwhelming sense of power he had over her. Eager to break free from the spell he had constructed during their study hour, she dared to meet his eyes and was petrified by the vibe of 'INTENSELY HOT GUY IN YOUR WAY.' It was clearly no surprise that she felt herself shudder when his warm breath tickled her ear.

"In that case…" Did his voice hold a tinge of regret? "Lets get back to work!" Said with an overall cheery disposition, the young lady could almost forget that what had transpired seconds before had never occurred. Nonetheless, she kept her guard up.

Then the bell that announced the closing of the library rang. (_A fifteen-minute warning, I might add._)

Alice fell out of her seat.

Ace laughed.

* * *

Stimuli from the effect of the shrilly noise gave enough incense for the old lady to rise from her prone position and grab the object that had rolled to the side of her head. Like a wolf, she smelled the scent of Johnson's baby oil shampoo and grinned. She may be faceless, but she got one heck of a nose. With her cane and nose leading the way, she stealthily moved to close in on her quarry. Heads were going to roll.

* * *

"Honestly, what's the use of asking someone to personally tutor you, when all he does is mess around?" Although she meant to keep the comment to herself, the shady brunette heard the reproachful remark.

"Don't be like that, Alice! Didn't you learn something!"

"What's the point of learning about sexual harassment?"

"So you want me to teach you about sexual interactions?"

"N-no!" Hurrying over to the supposed part of the library where her pencil case could have landed, Alice only found a chalk outline of a female body.

An old lady body to be exact.

"Why not?" Ace asked curiously.

"Be-because," she paused nervously. "There's no point in it!"

"Point? What point?"

Sighing with all the stress and annoyance that she tried to keep concealed under her cool exterior, she had to let it all out. Why? Why did she have to end up with this guy? She would rather lock herself in a cell with Sidney Black than have a conversation with the lost gentleman! Knowing that it would be rude—yet so, so pleasurable—to leave him hanging, she turned to face him.

"Your tutoring was a farce, so there was NO POINT IN THAT! Your throwing o my pencil case HAS NO POINT! Talking about future sexual relat—"

"So you want that to happen in the future?" His lusty red eyes turned brighter and even more mischievous. "With me?"

"THIS CONVERSATION HAS NO POINT!"

"But aren't you supposed to be learning about geometry?"

"Your point?"

"NO, I have a vertex."

"Aren't vertices points?"

"No, they're angles."

"What's the point of telling me now? Why couldn't you have told me this earlier!?"

"Because there was no point in having a vertices that could have been angular!" He pumped his hand with an ecstatic grin.

Alice turned away from the madness of the young man. If there was one thing that she didn't want to excel at, it was the art of being insane. "What? I am so lost."

"Good to know that we're congruent."

* * *

The old lady shuffled forward, murderous intent showing as a glare on her lenses. When she was going to find that girl, she will be punished.

* * *

Cordis Academy—Latin meaning "of the heart" or just "heart."

Fae C. Less—is an OC character. If you don't understand the significance of her name, then you need to learn to read between the lines.

Points/Vertices—I am bad at math, so I don't blame me if I got that bit wrong.

"Good to know that we're congruent."—Good to know that we're on the same page."

Should I continue adding onto this? Or should I just leave this two-shot be?


End file.
